BruceyB

So guys don't leave Iowa.. unless they're not going to be the starter.. but they don't count.

He's not my pick right now, but I wouldn't be that surprised to see him pull out a win against either. Especially in the era where a wrestler can score a takedown in the first, and then give up 3 stall calls throughout the rest of the match and win 4-3.

Everyone can have their thoughts on Flo and CP but one thing is certain.. CP is very careful not to share information that he has before the party(s) involved want that information shared, or the information is confirmed. The anti-Minnow approach. His reaction was interesting though where it sounded to me like there is more to the situation than his wife wanted to move back home. Having listened to CP as much as I have, his reaction to the question sounded like there is some drama behind this move and Flo doesn't want to get involved or be a catalyst by fanning the flame. On a side note, this off-season drama has been wild and we're only a few weeks removed from NCAAs. Who'd have thought we'd have so much to talk about?

I just went back to Swiderski's wrestlestat for the 2023-2024 season.. I did not realize how consistent he was. I thought he had a few more random losses in there. He really had a great season and I'd view him as an immediate title threat this season if he's fully healthy.

I think others have well spelled out my point by now. Also, to suggest I don't know much about wrestling to then go on and suggest that the backup to Witcraft (who didn't qualify for NCAAs) would absolutely smoke Figs at 133 is pretty ironic.. it's commonly understood that Hughes wasn't truly a 133 pound this year, and won't attempt to compete there again next season.

I hope I was supposed to read this in a 90s Adam Sandler voice. I'm really curious to see what Hughes looks like both healthy and at a more natural weight. However, the results this year didn't support that he's a lateral move, let alone upgrade from Jamison.

Respectfully.. not on this thread please.

Interesting. I didn't know about the AD situation. I know UNC is one of the top public universities in the country. I'll be curious if he can reroute some of that NJ pipeline he had at Cornell down south to UNC. Admittedly, I don't know much about the separation of academic advantages between the two.. but Koll's rolodex alone has to be a massive recruiting tool for those seeking a profession outside of wrestling after their collegiate career.

It is a terrible coaching move. I would never bring in someone a stud who fell short of AA'ing. I mean, look at what happened with Hamiti. The warning signs where there went he imploded in the B1G finals and failed to reach the podium last year. Stupid Oklahoma State, stupid!

Thank you. I admit I had completely forgotten about the covid sit-out year in 2021 for a very talented Cornell team. That make a lot of sense.

I don't know that I would lock him into the starter roll at this point. Unless he's struggle with lifestyle and weight management, then we're talking about a guy who lost to Trevor Anderson twice, Tristan Daugherty, and got stuck by Dean Peterson. The talent is obviously there but, even the year he won it, he had a pretty bad season up until the end of February. I think 1 thing is clear.. DT is enacting the PSU approach of amassing as much talent as possible where guys will have to continue to improve if they don't want to be in danger of losing their spot to the guy behind them. No school has had comparable depth to PSU in recent years.. the fact that we don't know what OSU's line-up is going to look like next year is a positive because it means they have multiple options at several weights and guys will have to shuffle to put themselves in the best position possible to be a started.

Man, I just was curious why a great program builder left Cornell. How many times do you guys want to argue about politics online? It could have just been left that he was upset about the Ivies stance on not participating in 2021 and left largely due to that decision without making this thread toxic. @MPhillips send em' to the back.

It's been a while since I listened to his interviews after the announcement was made that he was heading to Stanford. I'm curious if anyone has beyond the surface insight to what prompted the change of scenery? Was it trading New York winters for the more moderate NorCal climate? Did he feel that he had essentially completed the job of bringing Cornell to prominence and wanted to go to another program and enjoy the process of building a donor base, and raising a non-traditional wrestling school to a national force? Was it a financial decision? I was just looking at the potential roster for UNC next year, and was wondering to myself how long it would be until they have anything close to the brand name of Cornell in college wrestling.

I hope to see Zain embark on his own coaching path once he decides to hang 'em up. Hopefully as the former PSU athletes age out of competition we the nits embark on their coaching paths and can inject some excitement into some other programs.

I can't believe how massive these brackets are. U20s is going to be such a show. I can't wait.

I don't know. Welsh is obviously getting paid for his services, and if you're Iowa, or Missouri, why pay a guy to come fill a weight where you have a high caliber wrestler? It would make more sense to bring in a guy at a weight of need. PSU is the only team with such an embarrassment of riches that they would bring in a Rocco when they have a Ryder at home.

My point is that, to the best of my knowledge, no one on this message board knows what happened between Rocco and the PSU staff. I also don't actually care what happened between the two parties. I don't actually care if coaches are actively poaching athletes in the current landscape of college wrestling. Whether a wrestler is in the portal or not, we are living in an era of no contracts and everyone is a free agent. I understand that "technically" a student has to be in the portal to be talked to, but at this point, there might as well just be an open recruiting process every year.. athletes in the portal or not. My issue is people white-knighting for PSU when they don't know any more than the rest of us, but want to act as if lack of evidence is the same as lack of misconduct. I don't know if there was anything below board with the whole ordeal, and I'm not going to argue that there was anything below board.. because I don't know what happened. I'm also not going to argue that they did nothing wrong, because just like you, I don't know if they did anything wrong or not. Just because they haven't been caught doesn't mean they aren't doing anything wrong. How many basketball/football programs were caught years after their misconduct for paying athletes illegally in the last 30 years? Again, I don't care if they did contact Welsh "illegally." It's just obnoxious when people white-knight for PSU when they have no idea what actually went on behind the scenes. I do hope that @VakAttack enjoys watching PSU homers squirm to defend their program now that they are the evil empire of wrestling after having to fight the battle for Iowa all these years.

Got me.

My opinion has been made clear on this topic under different threads. In one sentence, there are no enforced rules in todays transfer/NIL era.. the only dummies are those that pretend that their team is engaging in the activity in a more "morally upright" way than the rest of the programs. Exhibit.. you. None of us know the finer details going on behind the scenes. It's dumb to attack PSU over their transfers, but it's even dumber to blindly protect them based on the "lack of evidence" for them doing anything wrong. Justify it however you'd like, but PSU has been much more cutthroat than any other program when it comes to bringing in outsiders over their own current athletes. Only the most woefully naive can convince themselves to believe the sentiment "These wrestler's are begging to come to PSU, what is Cael supposed to do? Say no?"

You love PSU more than Lucas Byrd loves his 6'3" girlfriend.

This is a clown take. I'm sure Welsh was begging to be let on the PSU team for little to no money while David Taylor was at his door step offering him a huge bag to change his mind.

I'm not going to sugar coat this. I think @JimmySpeaks is a complete imbecile. But I do agree that what students are earning directly from Universities (once the monet is no longer being laundered through collectives/boosters etc) should be public knowlege. College is now professional sports and just like in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, etc. where contracts are disclosed publicly, so too should the money college athletes are making so that there is a more fair market value. I don't know if you or Wkn agree or disagree with that sentiment. In the current landscape, there is no reason to disclose NIL deals, but once money is coming directly from the institutions, IMO, that changes everything.

They both had incredible seasons, but at the end of the day, the Hodge is a subjective award and shouldn't change how you view a wrestlers career. Winning it says something, but not winning it doesn't say much. I don't look at Nolf, Zain, or Ruth any differently than Nickal because they aren't Hodge winners. Tbh, some weights are just easier to separate yourself from the field. Curious to see a chart of which weights have produced the most Hodge winners. I would certainly think it's 165 or higher.

I regret entertaining your opinion on the other thread. I wasn't familiar with the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about. I hope the you find yourself at a beach where everyone has matching towels, however. Do you believe that Antrell Taylor/Joey Blaze are more likely to win NCAAs in 2026 than Shapiro or Kasak? Certainly the predictive rankings support that claim.. I'm happy to set a bet here and now.. but you have to give me odds since the predictive rankings have Shapiro and Kasak as the prohibitive underdogs.

What is the difference between a pin and a knockout punch? In either scenario, you could be getting dominated, but in one exchange you change the tide and are declared the definitive winner. I'm agreeing with you that there are fluke pins and likewise fluke knockouts in boxing.. however.. the best of the best don't lose due to a fluke exchange. Again I understand your argument, but you are ignoring the fact that a pin is the most rewarded result in wrestling. Ask two-time Hodge winner Ben Askren which is a bigger sign of dominance.. in his junior and senior year of college.. being tech'd rather than pinned would have been a credit to the loser because he couldn't do what he was trying to do. Ben would have been upset to tech someone rather than pin them.. he must not understand what it means to dominate.